Cybunny's Story
by Alkuna
Summary: When an an accident in the races lames a Cybunny, what is a person to do when his left where he falls?


Yes, I have more than one account. And yes I write stories for them too. Enjoy.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Neopets.com  
  
__Cybunny_'s Story  
  
"Racers, prepare yourselves. You have five minutes," the announcer called over the speaker.  
  
I watched as the young Cybunny's ears perked up. He got to his paws and began doing warm up stretches. On his back was a cloth marker #4. He caught me looking at him and froze in mid stretch, looking surprised.  
  
I mouthed, "Good luck," to him, knowing that he wouldn't have heard me over the crowd noises even if I had used a microphone and a loudspeaker.  
  
He smiled shyly and returned with, "Thank you."  
  
I walked over to the betting booth and placed a bet on him. I could tell that though #4 was a young and small Cybunny, he was also agile, fast and had good stamina.  
  
My two Kougras, Stasheff and Kiara1896 and my Halloween Nimmo, Kissthebaby joined me at the fence. We watched the Cybunnies jog to their places at the starting line and wait eagerly.  
  
"3, 2, 1." The bell rang and I rose with the crowd to cheer on #4. My Kougras added their voices to my own, the thunderous roars of the Kougras successfully rising above the crowd.  
  
Kissthebaby, now a Halloween Nimmo as she had wished to be, sprang into the air and beat her powerful wings until she was above the crowd. "GO! GO! GO!" she crowed.  
  
#4 seemed to hear us rooting for him and stretched out his long legs and pulled ahead of the crowd of racers. Paws pounded on the hard earth and #4 surged up to 2nd place. He was doing great; he only had one other racer to pass to get into first place. His final challenge was to pass up #3.  
  
#3 was a large and powerful Cybunny, known as Rogue. I knew Rogue's reputation for winning. He won his races by using dirty tricks that could be played off as accidents.  
  
As they neared the final stretch of the race, #4 pulled closer to Rogue and prepared to pass him. I saw the quick narrowing of the eyes a spit second before both of Rogue's hind paws lashed out backwards and connected sharply with #4's left front paw.  
  
My cheers turned to a cry of horror and concern as poor #4 hit the ground hard before sliding and rolling to a stop. The other Cybunny racers passed him up to the finish line.  
  
The crowd "booed" and a few items were tossed in #4's direction. Ignoring them, I jumped the fence, followed by my three pets, and ran over to where the Cybunny was flopping around on the hard packed dirt of the racetrack. #4 struggled to get to three paws and finish the last stretch of the race even though he knew he had lost.  
  
I stopped him and gently picked him up. "Shhh," I soothed him, "Calm down, I'm here to help." #4 whimpered as I jostled his injured leg slightly and buried his small face into my chest.  
  
"Miss?" said a voice behind me. I turned to see a green gelert dressed in a doctor's suit standing there. "If you will follow me, we'll get that leg looked at and taken care of."  
  
I nodded and we followed the gelert into a cool examining room away from the noise and the crowds.  
  
After a quick and gentle check up, the gelert put the Cybunny's leg in a sling and gave him a carrot laced with a painkiller. He turned to me and smiled reassuringly, "He'll be ok. His leg is sprained really bad is all. He'll need to stay in the sling for a few weeks and only gradually work up to racing again. Your Cybunny will be right as rain soon."  
  
"Oh... he's not my Cybunny. Those are my only pets." I gestured to where they were lounging and patiently waiting for me to finish.  
  
The doctor gave me a considering glance then nodded, "Ok, I'll send out the word so his owner knows where find him."  
  
"...No good." The Cybunny had struggled to three paws and was looking at us. His eyes glistened with what looked suspiciously like tears.  
  
I raised my eyebrow at him.  
  
He just shook his head. "No good... My owner said..." he choked up and swallowed hard, "...said th-that if I didn't win th-this one that I would b- be left where I f-fell. A lot-lot of NP was bet on me in th-this race."  
  
Seeing such a young pet loosing the fight with tears kicked it in for me. I walked over to him, picked him up gently and held him close.  
  
"What's your name son?" The doctor asked kindly.  
  
"__Cybunny_, or just Cybunny." I could feel him trembling in my arms.  
  
"I'll put the word out. If no one comes, we'll find you a good home. What about you miss...?"  
  
"Whyte_tiger." I turned to the others. "What do you think guys? Would you mind having a Cybunny brother?"  
  
They looked him over and assured me that they were fine with it.  
  
I nodded to the gelert doctor, "I'll be happy to take him."  
  
Day faded slowly to evening and no one showed to claim my new charge. Fortunately the painkiller kicked in and he slept through the long wait. Finally the racetrack began to close for the evening.  
  
I paid the fee to adopt Cybunny and filled out the forms. I carried him home and made him as comfortable as I could.  
  
***  
  
Nearly a week later, I caught Cybunny staring sadly off into space and trying to flex his leg for the hundredth time.  
  
I sat down next to him and caught his paw gently, "A watched pot never boils Cybunny. Likewise, an injured leg won't heal if you keep moving it before its ready."  
  
Cybunny sniffled slightly, "It's my fault. I was too close. I should have run further out..."  
  
"It's NOT your fault Cybunny. Rogue played dirty, he's the only one at fault here."  
  
"But my owner put so much NP on me winning. I know you bet on me too, I saw you. You've gotta be mad at me for loosing."  
  
"No, I don't have to be mad. Cybunny, no one should ever bet money unless they are willing to take the chance that they'll loose it. What I do get upset about is when a good, sweet pet beats himself up for something that wasn't his fault."  
  
Stasheff padded over and licked the top of his head, "Besides, no owner is worth making yourself miserable over if they see fit to abandon you. Kiara and Kissthebaby have already gone through what you are experiencing. Just take it easy."  
  
Cybunny looked into Stasheff's eyes for a moment, then, nodded, looking determined, "O-ok. I still wanna race though." He managed a smile, "I love racing; it's such a thrill to feel the wind in my fur and to feel my feet carrying me along at top speed."  
  
I laughed a little, "Ok Cybunny. But heal first; you can't race on three legs."  
  
***  
  
Cybunny was finally back in the races again after a full month of practice and physical therapy.  
  
"Racers, prepare yourselves. You have five minutes," the announcer called over the speaker.  
  
I gave Cybunny a tight hug and the other three wished him luck. Then he started to warm up, wearing his cloth marker again. His face was set with determination. He would not let Rogue get him again.  
  
We placed our bet on Cybunny of course. Stasheff growled as he pointed to the hulking figure of Rogue a few spaces away. Rogue had a permanent sneer on his face and looked at the other Cybunnies with contempt.  
  
The bell rang and they were off, the faint thudding rumble of feet drowned by the roar of the crowd. We shouted our encouragement as Cybunny once again drew closer to Rogue. Rogue sneered back at him and lashed out with his hind feet, aiming for Cybunny's newly healed leg.  
  
Stasheff roared in outrage next to me, but Cybunny was ready for the cruel trick and dodged. Then he pulled ahead and Rogue stumbled, coughing on the dust that Cybunny kicked up, incidentally getting it right in Rogue's face. It was a photo finish, with Cybunny in First place! Cheers filled the stands and we ran over to congratulate our little winner.  
  
Rage flooded Rogue's face and he stalked toward Cybunny with a dangerous gleam in his eyes. But he was shuffled aside as the judges hustled over to surround the tired but triumphant winner. Finally Rogue shook a fist in helpless anger in Cybunny's direction and stormed off.  
  
Cybunny was accepting a golden trophy with a racing Cybunny engraved on it as we reached him and he smiled happily and hopped into my arms for a hug.  
  
"I did it!" he exclaimed breathlessly, "I.beat Rogue! No one can ever hold me back again!"  
  
"Famous last words," Kiara whispered as Cybunny went rigid in my arms and I turned to see that he was staring in disbelief at a somewhat younger girl who was making her way through the crowd toward us.  
  
Pictures were being snapped by reporters from the Neopian Times to capture the scene what soon unfolded.  
  
"Cyrabbit! There you are! I've been looking all over for you!" The girl exclaimed, ignoring me completely.  
  
"My name is __Cybunny_." Cybunny said softly.  
  
"Whatever. Come on it's time for you to come home," she started to reach out to take him from me but I blocked her.  
  
"Nuh UH!" I growled, sounding so much like a Kougra that Stasheff shot me a proud glance, "You don't have any claim on him. Even if you were his past owner you have no right to show your face here."  
  
"No right?!" she shouted, "No right?! You stole him from me you thief! You- you HACKER!"  
  
A gasp went up from the crowd of onlookers and I could feel my expression turning cold, "First of all, I have no use for other people's accounts, items or pets. I can earn an honest income like any other Neopian. Second of all, you abandoned Cybunny at the races last month so-"  
  
"You stole him!" she shrieked, "I looked all over for my poor, poor Cyrabbit."  
  
"Cybunny!" We all snapped together.  
  
"You did no such thing. You left him there and you never showed up at the doctor's office to claim him. Nor did we receive any contact from you the whole time he was healing," I said, glaring straight into her eyes, "Only now, when he's a 'winner' do you show up. You don't care about him, you only want him to win races for you."  
  
Cybunny, who had been quiet all this time, lifted his head finally and spoke, "You said you were here to take me home. Well.I have a home already. I know where it is and it's certainly not with you. I'm not your NP investment anymore."  
  
I smiled a little as the girl started sputtering an excuse about being unable to get onto the computer.  
  
"Come on guys and gals," I said loudly over her sputtering, "It's getting windy out here. Somebody's blowing a lot of hot air. I'll take us out to a big lunch and some ice cream, how about that?"  
  
We walked away from the races with smiles on our faces. Our family had a lot to celebrate.  
  
The End 


End file.
